Flute solo, John Reynolds - tambourine, Ed Geoghegan - piano, Columbia 33260-F. Another recording of this old polka from Morrison, along with its companion tune which Morrison trills mightily on. The year before Reynolds had made his recorded debut with Morrison, on the reels Dunmore Lassies/Manchester Reel/Castlebar Traveler, and schottisches Sweet Flowers of Milltown/The Boys From Knock. These were sans piano and have been the only sides of Morrison reissued to date.
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Flute
Source: 78
Flute solo, Ed Geoghegan - piano, New Republic 2334. A slip jig followed by a double jig, a device also used on 78s by piper Patsy Touhey and Leitrim flutist John McKenna. I've never come across the first tune in print; it is a very nice old fashioned melody, which Morrison uses his full arsenal of techniques on, blending the first and second octaves by slacking his breath, and using double cut rolls on the high G, which was also a favorite technique of Touhey's - Morrison was also a piper, and...
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Flute
Source: 78
Traditional Irish Flute by Tom Morrison with piano accompaniment, "The Cow That Ate The Blanket" was recorded circa 1928. From the original 78rpm disk.
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Flute, Traditional, Folk, World Music, 1920s, 78rpm
Source: Original 78rpm disk digitized by old78collector
Flute solo, Ed Geoghegan - piano, New Republic 2332. The first is a loping version of a tune called Sheehan's in O'Neill's book; piper Liam Walsh recorded it as the Broom reel, and his recording of it may also be heard on this site. Morrison recorded a different reel with the Indian on the Rock title in 1928. The second reel John McKenna called The Flowers of the Red Mill.
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Flute
Source: 78
Flute solo, Ed Geoghegan - piano, New Republic 2332. The trill on the high G and F notes in the first tune is a marvelous device. Morrison follows with the familiar title melody. He would record another disc with the same title in 1928, which recording will also be featured on this site.
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Flute
Source: 78
Flute solo, John Reynolds - tambourine, Ed Gagan (Geoghegan) - piano, Columbia 33293-F. The first is an attractive little tune, a bit like a more well-known reel, Miss Johnson. The second tune is called Peggy on the Settle in O'Neill's. The Music of Ireland (1903) has the setting with the run up to high C which Morrison (and his piping student Tom Busby) used, but the Dance Music of Ireland (1907) omitted this variation for some reason.
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Flute
Source: 78
Flute solo, John Reynolds - tambourine, Ed Gagan (Geoghegan) - piano, Columbia 33293-F. The first is found in innumerable settings, sometimes in multi-part settings. It is usually heard with Morrison's second and third parts. The universally known Foxhunter's Reel is related to it, as is most apparent in Morrison's fourth part. The second reel seems to be a relative of the Flax in Bloom.
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Flute
Source: 78
Flute solo, John Reynolds - tambourine, Ed Geoghegan - piano, Columbia 33260-F. These are better known as the Reel of Bogie, the Traveller, and the Five Mile Chase. Interestingly enough piper Tom Ennis also recorded a medley of reels which included the last two mentioned tunes, in that order. Morrison was also a piper and would have known Ennis, and possibly also Patsy Touhey, who also played the Bogie in A, unlike the more common E. This is Morrison at his fiercest, note the wild trill he...
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Flute
Source: 78
Flute solo, Miss McGoldrick - piano, Gennett 5477. Miss McGoldrick doubles the melody, presaging Eleanor Kane of Chicago, who recorded a solo piano disc in the 30s and made various recordings with Pat Roche's Shamrock Orchestra. Miss M seems to keep the damper pedal down all through the tune, lending an otherworldly quality to this recording.
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Flute
Source: 78
Flute solo, John Reynolds - tambourine, Ed Geoghegan - piano, Columbia 33247-F. The first reel is better known as Ballinsloe Fair, popularized by Michael Coleman. Fiddlers play a bowed triplet on the C natural note of the second part; Morrison simply coughs or tongues a series of four Cs. This isn't a tune often heard form flute players or pipers due to the difficulty of playing a roll on the C, and also of separating the high G from the C on the pipes. To finish things off Morrison plays Miss...
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Flute
Source: 78
Flute solo, John Reynolds - tambourine, Ed Geoghegan - piano, Columbia 33247-F. The first tune is the Wonder Hornpipe, a composition in the key of B Flat of Newcastle fiddler James Hill. Like most Irish musicians Morrison resets the tune into G, as flute players and pipers did with other Hill tunes like the High Level and the Scholar. Morrison's rush up the scale at the end of the first part, followed by his very staccato fifing, is a great moment. An admirer of Morrison once said "He'd...
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Flute
Source: 78
Flute solo, Ed Geoghegan - piano, New Republic 2334. Packie Dolan recorded the first reel as Mullin's Fancy, which is used for his specifically fiddle setting. It is a very common Northumbrian song/tune, the Keel Row; other Irish players call it the Strawberry Blossom. The second one Paddy Killoran recorded as the Pretty Girls of Mayo, but it has gone under innumerable titles/settings as well. Two recordings on this site featuring it are Mullaney's Favorite by Mullaney and Stack, and Liam...
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Flute
Source: 78
Fiddle and flute, unknown - piano, Columbia 33068-F. The Humours of Ballyconnell is an O'Neill's tune, named after a Cavan town. Captain Rock has become well-known under its Co. Clare title, the Old Bush. Coleman and Morrison give it a spirited old-fashioned treatment, with fewer rolls than might be expected. Coleman's persistent A/F# double stop in the first part sounds like emulation of a piper's regulators, this being one of the five standard chords available for the piper.
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Fiddle, Flute
Source: 78
Fiddle and flute, unknown - piano, Columbia 33069-F. Tom Morrison's son James recalled Coleman and his father recording some tunes for Columbia, "including a polka, and they thought no more of that record than they would of a cigarette butt in the street." They were quite a bit more enthusiastic when they got paid, though. Columbia was a good deal more well-heeled than other companies, it seems. The polkas played here are the Rakes of Mallow and the Rose Tree. Morrison's cue to the...
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Fiddle, Flute
Source: 78
Traditional Irish Flute and Tambourine with piano accompaniment, Tom Morrison and John Reynolds perform "The Connaught Reel" and "The Shepherd's Daughter" in this recording from circa 1928. From the original 78rpm disk.
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Flute, Tambourine, Folk, Traditional, World Music, 1920s, 78rpm
Source: Original 78rpm disk digitized by old78collector
Flute and melodeon, Miss McGoldrick - piano, Gennett 5478. Piper Michael Gallagher had recorded this hornpipe a month earlier, and his recording of it may be heard on this site as well. Both of these settings are distinct from that recorded by fiddler James Morrison in the 30s, which has become standard. Conlon plays the tune a few times before Morrison joins in, which is good since Morrison is abysmally out of tune with him.
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Flute, Accordion
Source: 78
Performer: Tom Morrison and John Reynolds Irish Schottische; Flute and Tambourine. Digitized at 78 revolutions per minute. Four stylii were used to transfer this record. They are 3.8 mil truncated conical, 2.3 mil truncated conical, 2.8 mil truncated conical, 3.3 mil truncated conical. These were recorded flat and then also equalized with Turnover: 375.0, Rolloff: -12.0. The preferred versions suggested by an audio engineer at George Blood, L.P. have been copied to have the more friendly...
Topics: 78rpm, Ethnic
Source: 78
Performer: Tom Morrison and John Reynolds Irish Reels; Flute and Tambourine. Digitized at 78 revolutions per minute. Four stylii were used to transfer this record. They are 3.8 mil truncated conical, 2.3 mil truncated conical, 2.8 mil truncated conical, 3.3 mil truncated conical. These were recorded flat and then also equalized with Turnover: 375.0, Rolloff: -12.0. The preferred versions suggested by an audio engineer at George Blood, L.P. have been copied to have the more friendly filenames....
Topics: 78rpm, Ethnic
Source: 78
Flute and melodeon, Miss McGoldrick - piano, Gennett 5478. These tunes are better known as the Langstern Pony and the Ship in Full Sail. Conlon dominates the recording, the better to mute Morrison's somewhat out of tune flute. Langstern Pony is sometimes played with two additional parts but most older players stuck to the first two.
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Fiddle, Flute, Accordion
Source: 78
Flute, fiddle, and melodeon, Miss McGoldrick - piano, Gennett 5477. Morrison's flute is a bit out of tune and Higgins's fiddle can scarcely be heard over the droning piano; nevertheless this is a lively pair of reels. The C in the Bank of Ireland is usually played as a C Natural but old melodeon players like Conlon didn't have this note on their one row diatonic instruments, so they either played a C sharp or modulated to a relative minor key that had a natural third note of the scale.
Topics: Irish, Celtic, Folk, Oldtime, 78rpm, Fiddle, Flute, Accordion
Source: 78
